Intertwined Destinies
by The King of Soda
Summary: Yuka has waited eight years to reunite with her cousin Kouta. One day, her lifelong dream becomes true. But why can't Kouta remember anything? Who is this strange girl with horns? And why are the two boys lying in the beach at the brink of death? Borrows certain elements and ideas from Children of Destruction, so go read that before you read this. Rated M for sex scenes later on.
1. The Discovery at the Beach

Intertwined Destinies

DISCLAIMER: I don't own DBZ or _Elfen Lied_.

CHAPTER 1: The Discovery at the Beach

It was a beautiful day in Kamakura in the Kanagawa Prefecture of southeast Japan. The sun was out and glowing brightly in an endless expanse of cerulean-hued sky dotted with large, puffy white clouds clouds soaring gracefully overhead with many soft pink flower petals falling down from the air like snowflakes and painting the area in a warm, breathtaking feel of hearth and home, as though to welcome new arrivals with a friendly greeting. And at Gokurakuji Station of the Enoshima Electric Railway, a young woman was waiting patiently on the opposite side of the stationhouse entrance. Her hair was chestnut brown and styled in the traditional Japanese way, framing the young woman's heart-shaped face and highlighting all the areas of beauty, from her petite nose to her gently curving chin leading up to the girl's full, round cheeks and ending at her chocolate-colored eyes, filled with the compelling blend of both deep, caring compassion as well as firm, resolute strength, an ocean of emotion one could quickly get lost in.

Checking the time, the young woman was surprised to discover the one whom she had been waiting for was now late. Wasn't he coming to see her? Did he forget she was here? Feeling angry and disappointed, the beautiful woman left the stationhouse, obviously intent on tracking him down. Traveling down the pathways of Kamakura she took in the sights and surroundings with something akin to wonder on her face. It had been eight years since she had seen it, but it appeared very little had changed at all in the small town where she and her favorite cousin had grown up in. She smiled nostalgically. Those days she spent with him as a child were some of the happiest times of her entire life... and some of the saddest, too, she remembered as her happy grin turned into a remorseful frown. Her uncle and her other cousin had both died eight years ago, and though the pain was no longer fresh, it was still there. She may not have been as close to them as she was her cousin, but they were still her family, and she had wept for their deaths with all the pain and regret in her heart. Hopefully, her cousin managed to recover from that and make something resembling a life for himself.

The young woman was now walking up a stone stairwell sloping upward and bracketed on the right by a cliff side, all leading up to the homes of the area. Suddenly, she caught sight of a young male who seemed to be around her age walking up one of the stairways. Was it him...? She examined the newcomer more closely. That unkempt black hair, those dark eyes, his gait, the very way he moved, like someone who was sure where he belongs yet not sure where to be... her breath caught in her throat. It _was_ him, she would recognize him anywhere, even after all these years. The young man turned to face her, and both jumped in surprise, taken off guard by the presences of one another.

"Oh! You're Kouta, right?" the young woman said.

"Um..." the young man said, blinking a bit, like he didn't know how to proceed.

The young woman fought down a wholly inappropriate giggle. "I'm Yuka. Your cousin."

The light clicked in the young man's eyes. "Oh, you're Yuka?"

The young woman nodded, and the two set off down the streets of Kamakura.

"Since I didn't see you at the station, I looked all over for you," Yuka said, a trace of annoyance in her tone of voice.

"Really?" Kouta said, and then he hung his head in embarrassment. "Sorry."

Her beloved cousin, that bright, intelligent, lively boy that Yuka had remembered from her dreams, now had the feel of being a few steps behind the world around him, like he was struggling alone in a dark and empty cave to find a candle he didn't know existed. Yuka felt her heart go out to the poor boy. What was the cause of all this? Did Kouta still mourn for his deceased family? And did he remember the promise he had made to her at the festival, more than eight years ago now?

"I'm surprised you figured out that I was here," Kouta added.

They were approaching the beach now. Walking ahead of him, Yuka stopped right aboard the stone walkway overlooking the sandy shores laid out before them, the picturesque view of the blue sea. Memories from those wonderful times played out in Yuka's mind, and she turned a genuine smile on her cousin, trying to draw him out from his shell.

"You like watching the ocean from here, right?" she ventured. "I remember."

"Yeah..." Kouta replied.

Truth be told, Kouta was able to recall the beach, and even some vague memories of his beloved little sister, Kanae, picking up seashells for him. However, any attempts at further recollection would end with his mind becoming foggy and disoriented, and in the worst of cases he would end up with a headache. All he could do was cling to what little memories he had left of his childhood, and smile in nostalgia. It was at least better than not remembering anything of his happy family at all.

Thinking back on his cousin, Kouta managed to recall a few bits of memories of their past history together. She used to drag him around playing all the time, always trying to make the most of his attention, which would often ignite an argument between her and his sister, who also tried to get her "Onii-chan" to concentrate on her instead. Looking at her now, Yuka still looked familiar enough for him to recognize her, however, one glance would be enough for him to realize how much she had grown up since, both in the way Yuka now carried herself, and by how much she had... filled in.

Blinking in surprise, Kouta caught himself before his mind could wander too far in _that_ direction. If there was one constant memory that he could recall with perfect clarity, it was that Yuka used to have quite a bit of a temper, and he sure didn't feel like provoking her by being a pervert.

As he gazed out at the ocean with Yuka, he smiled happily. Yes, despite it all, they had had some good times here.

"The view looks the same," he pointed out. "It hasn't changed since we were kids."

"And now we're going to the same college," Yuka said teasingly. "Who'd have guessed?"

Kouta's mind then clicked as he remembered the reason he'd come here in the first place — he had finally been admitted into a very good college. He couldn't help looking forward to it. After all, for a while it looked like he wasn't ever going to catch up. He had been hospitalized in a mental ward the year following the death of his remaining family members, and his development had been very slow. The doctors were quite adamant that he might not fully recover, so the fact that Kouta had even made it this far was a miracle.

Kouta smiled as he glanced at his cousin. He had to admit, Yuka entering the same college as him was a bonus. It was a chance to get to know her again and perhaps to regain some of his lost memories. Pretty much everything about those days was a blur, and maybe with enough time, he could rekindle a familial relationship with one of his last few living relatives.

"We've come this far already," Yuka said, beaming at her cousin. "Let's go see the ocean!"

"H-Hey! What're you doing?" Kouta stammered.

Yuka grabbed him by the arm, leaving him quite flustered, and passing a cemetery on the side, Yuka led him down to the beach.

"Come on! We used to go there all the time!" the brunette declared excitedly.

_Did we really?_ Kouta thought, but he let her guide him down to the shoreline, where they were afforded a breathtaking view of the ocean laid out before them, moving closer and closer until they could reach out and touch it. The sandy floor beneath them sunk slightly under the weight of their shoes, and Kouta suddenly wished he was barefoot so he could squeeze the sand between his toes.

For a while, the two just stood there, staring out at the ocean, the waves crashing along the shore in a never-ending rhythm of advances and retreats, tidal forces beyond their control moving the waters in a constant natural system larger than themselves.

"Remember when we used to play here?" Yuka asked Kouta.

"Yeah. The three of us," Kouta said sadly, the sight stirring up memories of his long-dead little sister. And despite how long ago it had happened, the wounds were still fresh, and painful. "You, me, Kanae-chan. We came here on the last day too."

"Kanae-chan..." Yuka murmured distantly.

The beautiful brunette grew sad and wistful at the mention of her other cousin. Being with Kouta, remembering those times, she could feel the weight of nostalgia bearing down on her, not just the good experiences, but the bad ones. She glanced over and saw that, if anything, her surviving cousin looked even worse than she felt now. He was sitting down, hunched over, as though there was a thousand-pound boulder sitting on his back, pushing him down, crushing him under its bulk.

"She was here... collecting seashells..." Kouta whispered, in such obvious agony that Yuka felt her heart splinter in two. It seemed as if he could reach out and grab the past simply by talking over what he remembered.

_A girl_,_no older than nine_,_was happily presenting Kouta with her treasure_,_a beautiful pink seashell. The girl bore a strong resemblance to him_,_with violet-hued eyes_,_long_,_shaggy dark hair_,_and a red bow on her head._

_"Onii-chan! Look! I found a ton of pretty seashells! Look! Aren't they great?!" the girl declared cheerfully._

_"They don't look so pretty to me_,_" Kouta said dismissively._

_Kanae began growing very mad as her hands balled together into fists..._

"Kouta!" Yuka's shocked voice interrupted his thoughts, bringing him back to the present.

"What?" Kouta asked, sitting back up again and sounding confused.

Yuka wondered if her eyesight was going bad. She couldn't be seeing what she thought she was! It was impossible! But after a few moments Yuka realized it was real. No dreams or hallucinations were this vivid.

"Look the other way," Yuka urged her cousin. "Quickly, do it!"

But Kouta, now thoroughly lost, instead looked in the direction Yuka was staring in.

"Huh? Uh, uh, what's going on?" Kouta said slowly.

"Your guess is as good as mine," Yuka replied, somewhat sarcastically. Why didn't he look away like she had told him to?

Because standing there, in the middle of the pounding waves, arms hanging lankly by her side and completely naked, was a young woman who seemed to be their age. And what a strange girl she appeared to be! She possessed long, luscious pinkish-red hair, flowing from the top of her gracefully down her bare back, cool, analytical red pupils in the same color of her hair that seemed to be watching them very carefully, and to finish this odd look, there were two cat-ear protrusions which poking out of the sides of her head.

"Where did she come from?" Kouta asked, blinking as he could feel heat rising in his face and a slight tightening around his groin. _No_,_not here!_ he moaned inside his head. _Not with Yuka only a few feet away from me!_

"How am I supposed to know?" Yuka said with exasperation.

"Maybe she came from one of those parties over near the university," Kouta suggested. "You know they can get pretty wild."

"Then explain that!" Yuka shouted suddenly, pointing at the girl.

Looking more closely, Kouta saw a trickle of blood running down the pinkette's head. Whatever had happened to her, it was something bad. No one came out in the middle of the beach both naked and bleeding.

"Kouta, you don't think she was raped, do you?" Yuka asked in alarm.

"I don't know," Kouta said, now growing more and more worried for the naked young woman standing in front of him.

Yuka stepped closer. "Listen, miss..."

But then she stopped.

To their surprise, those ruthless red pupils appeared to shift before their very eyes, and the girl's whole body shuddered. Her hands began moving, not to cover her nude body, but upwards, to touch her own face. Her hands and her face spread out plaintively, and the weird girl now spoke, feelingly, as though she wasn't really used to speaking.

"Nyuu...?"

"U-Um... excuse me?" Kouta said, wondering what on Earth was going on.

The girl whipped around to face them, looking scared and confused, and to the amazement of the two teens watching, she tried to run, but apparently this girl wasn't very well coordinated, because she tripped in the muddy sand and sprawled over, hitting the ground facefirst. The provocative sight and position of her naked body was in opposition to her reaction to the fall. Struggling upright into a kneeling position, the young woman's hands flew to her eyes as she began bawling openly. Her body may have been that of teenaged female, but her tears were those of an infant.

"U-Um... h-hey!" Kouta shouted.

Suddenly, his cousin, whom he had forgotten was even there, grabbed him by the shoulders and forcefully turned him away from the sight.

"Kouta, take your clothes off right now!" Yuka demanded.

Her request could not have been more of a shock to the young man.

"What?" he gasped.

"Just take off your clothes!" Yuka insisted.

"But then I'll be naked!" Kouta objected.

Yuka glared at him. "_Fine_. Then give me your shirt. The poor girl simply can't walk around naked!"

Kouta blinked. Oh, so that's what she wanted them for.

"Point taken," Kouta conceded.

With that, he started shucking off his shirt, and once it was successfully free from his torso, Yuka took it in her hands and carried it over to the still-crying young woman. She knelt down next to the nude horned girl and placed a comforting hand on her back.

"Hey, shhh," she said soothingly. "It's all right."

The naked girl stopped crying and glanced upward to face the brown-haired woman now beside her.

"N-Nyuu?" she said through tearful eyes.

"I just want to help you," Yuka reassured her. "Can you speak?"

The pink-haired girl tilted her head to the side. "Nyuu?"

Yuka sighed. "I suppose it was too much to hope you could understand me. Oh well. I guess I'll have to do this manually."

After a few tries, in which the girl's arms didn't wanna seem to cooperate with her, Yuka had dressed the girl in Kouta's white muscle shirt. It was a poor substitute for actual clothing, since the oversized shirt fell down well over the girl's waist and lower torso, ending at her thighs, but it would ensure no one got a look at the young woman's "private areas."

"Can you stand?" Yuka asked the girl.

"Nyuu!" the girl said.

Sighing in exasperation, Yuka helped the horned teen to her feet, but then, out of nowhere, the odd girl threw her arms around Yuka.

"Nyuu!" she declared, hugging Yuka tightly.

Hesitantly, Yuka wrapped her own arms around the strange woman and hugged her too.

"Yes, yes, it's okay," Yuka said. "Come on, we need to figure out what we're going to do with you."

Kouta was walking over, seeing how it was now safe to watch, when suddenly, he came to a complete halt.

"Wait, do you hear that?" the dark-haired man said.

Yuka looked over, disengaging from the clingy girl and perking her ears, trying to listen for whatever it was Kouta had heard.

"I don't hear anything," she said.

"I could've sworn I heard something!" Kouta insisted.

And with that, he took off running down the beach.

"Hey, wait!" Yuka yelled angrily. "Don't leave me here! What are we going to do with her?"

"Nyuu?" the innocent girl asked.

Feeling her temper rising, Yuka glanced at the girl and took her hand in her own.

"Will you come with me?" Yuka asked her.

Without bothering to wait for a response, Yuka took off after Kouta, dragging the pink-haired girl along with her. The nerve of her cousin! Run off and leave her alone with a girl who so clearly needed help? She'd show him...

"Kouta, wait up!" she yelled. "Wait! Slow down!"

And then Kouta turned a corner and came to a stop. He gasped.

Yuka finally caught up with her cousin and was very tempted to give him a brainer for daring to run out on her.

"What's the matter with you?" she demanded. "We have a hurt girl here and you take off like —"

"Look," Kouta said simply, pointing at something near the bend.

Too surprised to even argue, Yuka obeyed and like Kouta, she gasped too.

There, laying sprawled on the sandy beach closer to the stone wall, were two figures. One was a teenage boy, perhaps sixteen or eighteen years old. He had messy black hair which seemed to stick up in every single direction. Maybe this boy didn't know how to groom his hair? Or perhaps he liked it that way. He wore deep purple clothing like the gi most serious martial artists wore, except they were torn and shredded, revealing much of the bare skin beneath, which was covered in many deep bloody gashes and black and blue scrapes.

The second figure was another boy, though he appeared to be much younger than the first boy, perhaps six years old. Unlike the older boy, this younger child appeared to be perfectly fine, and he was kneeling by the older teen, shaking his shoulders desperately, his head pressed to his hair while he urgently begged the boy to regain consciousness.

"Please, Nii-chan, wake up!" the younger boy sobbed brokenly.

Yuka blinked. "Nii-chan." That was what the younger boy called him. Then this must be his older brother.

"Yuka..." Kouta breathed softly.

"I know," Yuka said.

Startled by the two voices he heard, the little boy looked up and glanced at the two newcomers. His features drew down together into a fearsome frown and he leaped up, moving in front of his brother with both arms held out. It was quite clear he wanted to protect his brother from what he viewed as two strangers who had come to hurt him.

"Stay away from my Nii-chan!" he said fiercely.

"Calm down, little fella," Kouta assured the little boy. "We're not here to hurt your brother."

"That's right," Yuka piped in. "Just relax, okay? You can trust us."

The boy slumped, and he glanced down at the sand underneath him.

"Sorry," the little boy apologized, sounding very embarrassed.

The horned girl, meanwhile, was looking between both the two teens and the two new people, her confusion mounting.

"Nyuu?" she wondered.

Yuka let go of the pinkette's hand and moved closer to the two boys. Kouta put his hands on the horned girl's shoulders reassuringly.

"It's all right," he informed her. "You don't have to worry. She just wants to make sure they're okay."

"Nyuu!" the girl shared.

Yuka knelt down next to the little boy, placing a finger under his chin and forcing him to look up at her.

"Honey, what happened?" she inquired, Yuka's maternal instincts kicking in full drive.

"Nii-chan... Nii-chan is hurt!" the boy said sadly. "Please, you've got to help him! He needs help!"

"I promise we'll do everything we can for your brother," Yuka vowed.

She turned back to look at Kouta.

"The first thing we need to do is get them off the street," she told her cousin. "I think we should take them to your place."

"What do you mean, my place?" Kouta asked.

"The place you're moving into," Yuka said. "We can't just leave them here."

"Er, yeah," Kouta agreed.

She turned back to the little boy and offered him a kind smile.

"You're safe," she said. "Once we're at the house, we'll figure out what to do."

Suddenly, with grateful tears shining in his eyes, the little boy leaped forward and hugged Yuka, much like the girl had done.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" the boy babbled.

Smiling, Yuka wrapped her arms around the child and hugged him back, just enjoying the feel of hugging the innocent little boy. How she longed to do this with children of her own, when she and Kouta were married with a family one day.

Setting the little boy down, Yuka stood up and looked over at Kouta, giving him a rather pointed look.

"Huh?" Kouta said. What did she want now. "Oh."

Of course, he would carry the other boy, who was older and heavier than the little boy was. Heading over to his side, Kouta reached down and put his arms around the teen's shoulders, and with a grunt, he began lifting him up, noticing something interesting as he did.

"Oh wow, this guy's ripped!" Kouta commented.

"What?" Yuka said, now distracted as she had taken the hand of both the little boy and the older girl.

"Take a look," Kouta said. "This kid must be a bodybuilder. I don't think I could get these kind of muscles."

And through the open front of the older boy's gi, Yuka noted that Kouta was correct. The older teen had exceedingly large, well-defined pectoral muscles and a strong abdomen with the beginning of a six-pack from the area the shirt cut off. All in all, Yuka wondered what he looked like beneath it... with a blush Yuka discovered herself staring unnecessarily long at it. She couldn't be doing this! The boy was hurt! It wasn't right! Besides, she had promised herself to Kouta! He was the one she wanted to marry and raise a family with!

"We can't worry about that now," Yuka said, trying to hide her own embarrassment. "Let's go."

And as they set out, Yuka turned to the little boy trotting along at her side, realizing there was something she hadn't asked him yet.

"Pardon me, but I forget to ask you your name!" Yuka said. "Do you mind telling us? My name's Yuka."

"And I'm Kouta," her cousin grunted as he struggled under the weight of the other teen.

The boy glanced up at the older kids and shrugged. Why not?

"Goten. My name is Goten."

* * *

Well, there ya go! Chapter 1 is up! I know what you're thinking, I really need to finish my other fanfics, and trust me, I haven't forgotten them, but this idea just would not leave me alone. As you might have guessed, this fic was inspired by my good friend LSSJ2 Gohan's own fic known as _Children of Destruction_, and will be borrowing heavily from that story. Now, please tell me what shippings you all would like to see and I will consider each and every request carefully and thoughtfully.

KoS

P.S.: Wow, I'm gratified to see such a positive response to this fic. However, since three people have voted for Gohan/Kaede, I figured I might as well address the issue now. See the poll on my profile to vote or just tell me by a review, though if you vote in a review, at least try to explain your reasons, since that will help me to decide. Here are the options: Do you wanna ship Gohan with Yuka or Kaede/Nyuu? Keep in mind, whoever Gohan gets, Kouta gets the other one. Yes, even Yuka. Respect other countries' customs, people. Don't hate the character just because you hate that shipping. Also, keep in mind that I'll be writing Gohan/Kaede for various other fics of mine. This is about the only chance I'll ever have to ship Gohan with Yuka. Anyway, vote!


	2. A Second Chance

Intertwined Destinies

DISCLAIMER: I don't own DBZ or _Elfen Lied_.

CHAPTER 2: A Second Chance

Kouta and Yuka walked to the Maple Inn. Yuka was holding the pink-haired girl's hand as well as Goten's in the other while Kouta managed the heavier weight and carried the teenage boy. Along the way, Yuka worried that somebody would come across them and make a scene, considering they were shepherding two wounded teens, one of whom wasn't even conscious while the other one was very poorly dressed for being in a public setting. Luckily for them, the streets and back alleys of Kamakura seemed to be strangely deserted, which Yuka found to be rather odd since it was only an hour after midday, and the small town should be bustling with people, but it was a fortunate coincidence since it allowed both Kouta and Yuka to return to their residence completely unmolested.

As they walked up to the house, Yuka glanced once more at the girl at her side, with her weird hair color and other oddities.

"She sure is a strange girl, isn't she?" Yuka remarked. "I mean, pink hair? I wonder if it's dyed. And red eyes. Those are probably contacts, I suppose. And that headband makes it appear that she's got horns."

Yuka glanced a bit closer at the girl, even as she kept twisting her head around in every single direction to look at everything; the trees, the falling leaves, and the sky above. It was like the girl was utterly amazed by life itself. After more closely examining her features, Yuka had a realization, and she gasped out loud. Goten looked up at her.

"Kouta, look!" she cried.

Kouta came to a stop. "What is it?"

"They're sticking out of her head!" she said. "They're real! Her horns are real!"

"Cool!" Kouta said, staring at them, before suddenly, his eyes grew wide, as though remembering something he didn't want to...

_A tiny girl_,_around the age of Kanae_,_horns on her head_,_short_,_neatly cut hair. A single word. "Liar..."_

Kouta pressed one hand to his temple as the vision disappeared, retreating back into the depths of his subconscious.

"What's so unusual about that?" Goten asked innocently.

"What do you mean, sweetie?" Yuka asked. "It's not really normal for people to have horns."

"But what about us?" Goten asked, his tone indicating his confusion.

"What do you —" Yuka began, and it was only then that she caught sight of the wagging, furry appendage poking out behind Goten's back, and she gasped again, caught off-guard for the second time that day. "T-Tails!"

"What?" Kouta inquired, sounding a bit dazed from his experience. "What are you talking about, Yuka?"

"These kids have tails!" she said, sounding irritated that he seemed to be only half listening. "Pay attention!"

"Really?" Kouta asked and then he too got a glance at the older boy's tail. "Wow, cool!"

Goten looked down, seemingly upset by the older teens' remarks.

"Is there something wrong with my tail?" Goten asked them, sounding utterly devastated.

His tone instantly grabbed at Yuka's heart, and she released the horned girl, kneeling down next to the little boy.

"No, of course not, honey," Yuka replied, already feeling guilty about her momentary lapse. "We're just surprised, that's all."

"Yeah, it's actually pretty neat," Kouta added. "It's not the kind of thing you see every day. I like it."

Yuka nodded at Kouta in silent thanks for his support.

Goten brightened considerably upon hearing this and he smiled up at the older two. Once they were sure that the little boy's feelings weren't hurt, they marched up the path towards the large structure. A nearby sign boldly proclaimed, "Kaede-Sou" in Japanese. Yuka pulled open the bamboo door and ushered Goten and Kouta inside the rather spacious building, the horned girl still twisting and craning her neck every which way to get a look at everything around her.

"This is the house you're going to rent me?" Kouta asked, taken aback at the sheer size of the place.

"It was a traditional Japanese restaurant, but they went out of business a while ago," Yuka informed him with a shrug. "My mom says as long as you clean the house everyday you don't have to pay rent."

"But, er..." Kouta said as a thought occurred to him.

"What's up?" Yuka asked him.

"How many rooms does this house have?" Kouta said pointedly.

"Let's see..." Yuka said, quickly calculating them all in her head. "Ten, if I remember correctly."

"And I'm supposed to clean them all?" Kouta said incredulously. "Without any help?"

"And the garden," Yuka added, seeming to almost enjoy Kouta's apparent indignation, though not in a smug cruel way; it seemed like something more akin to gentle teasing than an outright arrogance.

"Wait," Kouta huffed. "So basically I'm supposed to be a free caretaker?"

"Nyuu?" the horned girl said, glancing over at Kouta and Yuka with the typical expression of confusion on her face.

"I'd be glad to help!" Goten piped up. "Me and my Nii-chan! Mommy always made us... made us..."

And with that the little boy hung his head as tears began flowing down his cheeks.

"Oh, sweetheart, what's wrong?" Yuka wondered as she knelt to try and comfort the distraught child.

"Mommy... M-Mommy!" the boy sobbed.

Feeling her heart go out to the tiny figure, Yuka reached forward and pulled him into a hug.

"It's okay, baby," Yuka cooed. "Everything's going to be okay."

"N-No, it w-won't," Goten sobbed. "N-N-Never again..."

Yuka pressed her face close to his hair and began murmuring reassurance into his soft, spiky locks, just to let him know he wasn't alone and that she was there for him. Goten felt soothed being cradled by the strong, older woman. It was so comforting, to have somebody hugging him and caring for him and watching after his welfare, like his mommy and Nii-chan did, and slowly he felt himself calming down as his sobs reduced to a few pitiful whimpers.

As Yuka was busy comforting Goten, Kouta shifted position to more comfortably accommodate the teenage boy, who, he could swear, was getting heavier by the minute, but apparently, that slight movement was enough to rouse him and he let out a low groan. Kouta jumped in surprise, almost dropping the older boy onto the floor as he did so.

"Ah, he's waking up!" Kouta yelped, startled.

"N-Nii-chan!" Goten exclaimed. He quickly wriggled out of Yuka's grip.

Yuka moved up to Kouta alongside Goten. "Set him up against the wall, Kouta," she advised him.

Kouta did as he was told and laid the teen up against the wall, relieving himself of his load. Slowly, as though it took him a great deal of effort, he opened his eyes, blinked twice, and then glanced at his surroundings.

"Hello," Kouta said with an encouraging smile.

"Where... am I?" he asked as he tried to get up, wincing as mortal pain assaulted his senses. His body felt tender and sore and he could swear that he was dripping blood. His clothes felt like torn and limp rags.

Yuka and Kouta moved to help the teen.

"You're in Maple Inn on the coast of Kamakura, Japan." Yuka answered, reaching forward and placing two hands on his shoulders to help guide him up into a sitting position. "Careful, now. Easy does it. Don't overexert yourself. Some of those wounds look serious."

"Japan?" the older boy said, blinking.

_I've never heard of such a place_, he thought. _Am I still on Earth?_

"Yeah," Yuka said reassuringly. "Oh, I'm Yuka, by the way."

"Kouta," the dark-haired man said in a friendly tone.

"Oh, Gohan. My name is Gohan," the boy replied. "Son Gohan."

"G-G-Gohan?" Kouta said, trying, and failing, to suppress the mirth he felt at the rather odd name, and he burst out laughing.

"W-What's wrong?" Gohan asked him.

"Oh, sorry, it's j-just that y-your name, heheheheh, m-means... hahahahaha... cooked rice!" Kouta chuckled.

One of Gohan's eyebrows twitched. _What? I was named after food? But I thought I was named after Dad's grandpa!_ He sighed wearily as he grabbed his forehead in dismay. _Oh_,_Father... that's so like you._

Yuka punched Kouta in the arm. Hard.

"Stop it, Kouta!" she demanded. "Don't laugh at the poor boy! You're being rude!"

"Okay, okay," Kouta said, trying to placate the fiery girl. "But you don't have to hit me, you know."

Yuka merely sighed. Goten moved up to his older brother, eyes shining with brotherly concern.

"Are you okay, Nii-chan?" Goten inquired.

Gohan smiled down at his younger brother. "Hey, don't worry. I'm fine," he lied, trying not to remember the last few moments... before. "I'm just a little disoriented is all. You don't have to be upset now."

Goten smiled brightly and leaped forward to hug Gohan.

"Oh, I'm so happy, Nii-chan!" he said.

Gohan ignored the savage jolt of pain Goten's touch brought to his body; it felt like he had been shoved headfirst into a meat grinder, but he'd be damned before he let Goten see how badly hurt he was — he didn't want to scare him, so for now he just grit his teeth together and endured the weariness and the pain in his bones as best as possible. Well, it certainly wasn't like he hadn't been hurt before.

Just then, however, the horned girl chose to make her presence known, apparently tired of being ignored.

"Nyuu!" she cried, jumping over to Gohan and his little brother. "Nyuu, Nyuu, Nyuu!"

Unfortunately, since the girl didn't have pants on (or underwear, for that matter) this created quite a nice, unrestricted view into the young woman's... private zones, and Gohan felt his face growing hotter with each passing second as blood rushed to his face and... _other_ areas.

_Oh no_,_no_,_no_,_no_,_I can't be seeing this!_ he thought. _It's wrong!_

"Ah!" he cried, covering his eyes up. "Please, no more!"

The girl stopped jumping around and looked at him, confused. "Nyuu?"

"That's enough!" Yuka commanded. "You can't flash people like that. You make them feel uncomfortable when you do that."

"Nyuu?" the girl said, now tilting her head to the side, as if desperately trying to puzzle out what she had just said.

Kouta sighed in exasperation. "She still can't understand what you're saying, Yuka."

"Oh," Yuka said, her face flushing with embarrassment. "Right."

She looked back at the Son brothers, now concerned for their welfare.

"Do you have any place to stay around here?" she asked them.

Gohan's face darkened as he struggled not to succumb to the memories now playing through his head — the return of an old enemy from their past, the subsequent battle that followed, then looking on as the monster tore Earth apart like butter, grabbing Goten, expecting to die, the only consolation passing through his mind the knowledge that he was soon to be reunited with his father...

"No, we don't," Gohan said, making a visible effort to keep a lid on his emotions. "Our family is dead."

"Oh my!" Yuka said. "Oh, I'm sorry. I-I didn't know."

"No, of course not, how could you?" Gohan said, a tiny quiver in his voice the only outward manifestation of his inner turmoil.

"Oh, I've got an idea!" Kouta said excitedly. "Why don't you stay here with us?"

"What?" Yuka said. "But Kouta, I'm not very sure that's such a wise idea..."

"Why not?" Kouta argued. "It's perfect. We've got all of this extra room, and face it, I'm gonna need some help keeping this place clean every day. I can't do it alone. It's not that big of a problem, really."

"Well, I don't know," Yuka said, sounding unconvinced.

To be brutally honest, she had been hoping for some time alone with Kouta, to get to know him all over again. For eight long years, she had been dreaming of him, of seeing Kouta again, having him reenter her life and sweep her off her feet in a romantic reunion. So far, Yuka had been disappointed by their return to each other's lives, and she kept convincing herself that she just had to give him time.

But that was very selfish of her, and she had to consider these two boys who had lost their home and family. It was the moral thing to do, to offer them a home, at least until they could find one on their own. Her burning, longing desires for Kouta were at war with her conscience and her aspiration to help two lost souls who clearly needed a helping hand, and the fiery brunette didn't know how to handle it.

"Really, you don't have to take us in," Gohan insisted. "I'm sure we can find our own place around here somewhere. And I wouldn't want to be an imposition to you. We'd probably just get in the way here."

"But Nii-chan, we don't have anywhere to stay!" Goten protested. "And you're hurt so bad!"

"It's okay, Goten-chan," Gohan said. "I'll think of something."

And now Yuka's heart went out to the brothers in front of her, their plight and struggle to move on with their lives, with their family gone and nowhere for them to stay, removing any last hint of doubt from her mind.

"You'll do no such thing," Yuka said firmly. "Kouta is right, we have plenty of room here."

"Are you sure it's all right, Yuka-san?" Gohan asked. "We don't want to trouble you."

"No, it's no trouble," Yuka said. "At least stay here until you find your own place. Besides, your brother has a point. You need to recover."

A hopeful look stole over Gohan's face, and the tailed young man smiled for the first time since waking up. Wincing as a fresh wave of agony hit him, he struggled up to his feet, fighting hard against the sluggishness of his own muscles. It felt like his whole body had been turned to Jell-O, and Kouta and Yuka reached forward with worry.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Kouta said with concern.

"Yeah, we should call a doctor," Yuka said. "Or maybe take you to the hospital."

"No, please don't," Gohan insisted. "I'm... alright..."

He finally made it to his feet and then, Gohan surprised Yuka when he clapped both his palms together and bowed quite respectfully, inclining his head deeply in thanks. Yuka was a little shocked by such courtesy.

"Thank you very much for your generous hospitality, Kouta-san and Yuka-san, and allowing both me and Goten-chan to stay here with you two," Gohan thanked them, deeply inclining his head in appreciation. "I promise to repay you for your kindness someday."

_Such a polite young man!_ Yuka thought. _It'll be nice to have somebody around who knows proper manners._

"Well, thanks, Gohan-san," Yuka said with a bright smile.

"Nyuu!" the horned girl suddenly squealed.

With that, she clutched at her crotch and began darting to and fro, making everyone wonder what was wrong with her.

"What's the matter?" Yuka asked.

"Nyuu! Nyuu!" she squeaked.

With every passing moment, she was becoming more frenzied, as if something was deeply bothering her.

"Nii-chan, what is that girl doing?" Goten inquired innocently.

"I don't know," Gohan muttered with a shake of his head. He was dismayed to find even that tiny movement hurt a lot.

"What do we do?" Yuka asked. "We don't even know her name."

"Why not call her Nyuu?" Gohan suggested, masking the agony he felt in his voice. "That seems to be all she responds to."

And the girl newly christened Nyuu knelt on the floor, whimpering as she writhed in obvious discomfort.

"That seems like a good idea," Yuka said cautiously.

Gohan reached forward, concerned over what was affecting Nyuu, trying his best to ignore the pain that even that small action caused him to feel, shooting through his entire body like an electric shock.

"Hey, are you okay there, Nyuu-san?" he asked her worriedly.

Suddenly, the girl straightened up. "Nyuu..." she said softly, a satisfied look on her face.

"Look, I think she's feeling better," Kouta said.

"You think so?" Yuka said with a sidelong glance at him.

Suddenly, a soft trickling noise was heard as the smell of urine reached their noses, and a yellowish puddle spread out beneath Nyuu's bare legs. The others jumped back in surprise, completely startled by this rather bold act on Nyuu's part.

"Yuck!" Goten declared innocently. "Nii-chan, why is this girl peeing?"

"Never mind, never mind, just never mind," Gohan sighed, hoping Goten would just forget the incident.

Yuka took the girl by her arm and lifted her up.

"Kouta, stay here and clean up this mess, I'll take Nyuu to the bathroom," she said. She looked over at Gohan. "Your room is on the first floor, the third down the hall, on the left. You can't miss it. You and Goten can share a futon in there together."

"Okay, thank you, Yuka-san," Gohan said.

"And once we've gotten Nyuu cleaned up, we really need to patch up some of those wounds," Yuka said, glancing at Gohan in concern. "You can't go untreated that long. You may get an infection or something."

"Well, if you say so," Gohan answered. He flinched as another pain shot through his body. "You have a point, Yuka-san."

Yuka took the pink-haired girl and led her up the stairs, hurrying a bit as she moved.

Kouta sighed. "Why is it always me...?" He shook his head. "Well, I better get started. You don't mind helping me, do you?"

"No, of course not," Gohan said. He looked down at his little brother. "Hey, Goten-chan, why don't you go outside and play?"

Goten nodded eagerly. "Okay!"

Gohan stared after him as he took off out the door, amazed at the resilience of youth. It was all he could do to contain his own emotions, and he knew he was very close to a breakdown... but he couldn't do that here. It would lead to too many awkward questions.

"Um, Kouta-san, I want to go check out my room," Gohan said. "Is that all right?"

"Well, I suppose," Kouta said. "Just don't forget to help me."

"I promise I won't," Gohan said as he headed up the wood stairway.

Walking down the hall to the room that Yuka had indicated, Gohan entered the small area, and now he was sure that he was finally all by himself, he fell in an undignified heap by the door, sobbing brokenly over all that had transpired, all that he had lost...

They were dead... everyone he knew and loved... they were gone... and it was all his fault!

After the Cell Games, Gohan had fallen into a deep, worsening depression he let no one know about. He had lost so many to that vile beast... his beloved daddy, Son Goku, who had decided to remain in the afterlife to avoid their enemies coming after him. Trunks, who had returned to his future world to deal with the androids, and helped his planet rebuild. Even Sixteen was gone; as an android, he could not be wished back to life. But for the sake of everyone around him he tried to hide his emotions and never let them see the pain he felt on the inside...

Then, something miraculous happened, which brought back hope to his life, for a while — the knowledge that he was going to have a little brother. For the first time in a long time Gohan had a genuine happy smile on his face whenever he greeted someone. Even Gohan himself was completely unaware how deeply his pain ran, and life moved on, helped by Mirai Trunks returning from the future after the death of his mother. Things seemed to be slowly getting better and Gohan felt he could truly recover from his bad experiences.

Then, seven years later, tragedy struck anew. A strong enemy, far stronger than Cell and Bojack could ever hope to become, attacked the Earth. Gohan and the others put up a valiant fight, but no matter how strong he and Vegeta had grown, nothing they did even fazed this new foe. Seven years spent putting his body through hell to try and honor his father's memory, and it was useless. He might as well have done nothing! Near the end, as the battle drew to a close, he'd expected to die, and utterly beaten, too weary to fight anymore, he had welcomed it — at last he would finally be with his dad again. The only thing that enraged him was his mom and younger brother had to die with him.

Gohan grabbed his little brother, wanting to comfort him during their final moment. He remembered clinging to him tightly as the continents ripped apart and magma erupted from all of the cracks, as the oceans vaporized and the sky went totally black... and then after a long period of nothingness, he had awoken here, in this strange world. Was it his home? How could it be? His home had been destroyed. Gohan had lost all of his loved ones, and now he and Goten were the only survivors.

And for how long he remained there, crying and sobbing and venting all the horrible, raging pain in his heart, Gohan couldn't say, but he did realize he had to pull himself together. He could not afford the others to see him this way. He... he had to be strong. For Goten.

Wiping the tears away from his cheeks, Gohan rose into a standing position. _Okay_,_I just got to bottle up my emotions_, he thought. _I can't let anyone see them. If Kouta-san and Yuka-san ever found out what we are they'd kick us out on the streets. And Goten... h-he deserves a home_,_no matter what I've done. I owe that much to him_,_at least._

Well, it's not like he hadn't practiced hiding his emotions before. Feeling much more composed than before, Gohan headed out the door and made his way downstairs, annoyed to find he was still struggling against his injuries. But he found when he took it very slowly, then the pain went down to a barely manageable level. As he made his way to the front hallway, there was Kouta, just now sitting up with a squeaky clean floor surrounding him. As Gohan returned, Kouta shot a highly irritated look in the Saiyan Hanyou's direction and with a wince Gohan remembered he had promised to help Kouta clean up the spot Nyuu-san had peed on.

"About time you showed up," he said. "I thought you said you were going to help me."

"I'm... I'm really sorry, Kouta-san," Gohan said sadly. "I forgot."

Kouta sighed. "Well, never mind. It can't be helped, I guess. I don't think I could do much physical work with those wounds either."

Just then soft footsteps caused Kouta and Gohan to look over to the stairwell. Yuka was coming down the stairs, holding Nyuu by the hand to make sure she knew which way to walk. Gohan noted that the girl appeared a bit better dressed this time; instead of an old white shirt to wear, she was wearing cyan-colored boxer shorts, and a simple white undershirt.

_Those must be Kouta-san's clothes_, Gohan realized.

"Sorry to leave you with the mess," Yuka said.

"Well, it was kind of hard to clean it all alone, but it's finally finished," Kouta told his cousin.

"I should have helped him," Gohan said guiltily. "I promised Kouta-san."

"Kouta, were you planning to make him work?" Yuka demanded. "And in his condition? You idiot! He could have died!"

"Yeah, you're right," Kouta said sheepishly. "Sorry, Yuka-chan."

Yuka blinked at the sudden change in appellation, which generally denoted closeness between people, and blushed just a tiny bit. Feeling a little flustered, Yuka turned to face their houseguest, determined to look anywhere but Kouta. "Just don't worry, Gohan-san. Kouta-kun was able to do it himself, so it doesn't make a difference."

Kouta felt a bit touched by Yuka's change in appellation as well, and a genuine smile came over his face upon hearing it.

"Well, whatever you say," Gohan said.

"In any case, Nyuu-san is all cleaned up now, so that's something positive, at least." And then Yuka frowned a bit. "But I washed her hair completely, and it stayed pink, which means that's her natural color."

"So?" Gohan said, a bit surprised. "What's wrong with pink hair?"

Yuka gave Gohan a _very_ weird look. "It's just not a normal hair color, Gohan-san."

Gohan flinched quite noticeably. Once again, he cursed his own ignorance of the world he had landed in. Where he came from a wide variety of hair color was quite common, but it was clearly not so in this strange dimension. How he wished he hadn't opened his mouth! Now he was only a breath away from discovery, and it was all his fault!

Seeing that Gohan looked highly nervous, Kouta emphasized with the tailed boy and quickly changed the subject.

"That's fine, but you know, you didn't have to make her wear my underwear," Kouta complained.

It worked like a charm as Yuka focused her attention on her cousin. While the two were busy chatting, Nyuu moved her clothes around in confusion, so that Gohan and Kouta could get a nice look at her rather large breasts and her bare gleaming skin. Gohan struggled to keep a level head even as Nyuu kept continuously flashing them. The cousins seemed to take it all in stride, but Gohan found that he was having a hard time concentrating. _Focus..._focus_..._ he told himself.

"What else was she supposed to wear?" Yuka retorted. "I'll buy Gohan-san, Goten-chan, and Nyuu-san new clothes later."

"Oh, Yuka-san, y-you don't really have to do that," Gohan protested with a soft blush.

Well, at least he was distracted from Nyuu-san...

"Nonsense!" Yuka said, waving a dismissive hand. "You need proper clothing, those ones look pretty ragged. Besides, you're going to need to look properly dressed if you wanna find your own place after this."

"Well, okay, but I promise to pay you back somehow," Gohan insisted.

"That's okay," Kouta said. "Just take your time with that, okay? You don't have to pay us back all at once, you know."

"Thank you," Gohan said gratefully.

Kouta and Yuka exchanged a look and smiled. Another jolt of pain flared up in Gohan's body, and the hybrid tipped over, almost falling to the floor in agony. Kouta and Yuka moved forward to help the young man.

"Are you okay?" Yuka asked worriedly.

"Just try to stand up," Kouta told the younger man.

"I'm... I'm fine," Gohan said, gritting his teeth against the pain.

"We need to go get the first-aid kit," Yuka said, laying her warm, delicate hands on Gohan's shoulders. "If you don't wanna head to the hospital we should at least do all we can to disinfect and treat those cuts."

"Later, all right?" Gohan snapped, flinching at his own harsh tone. "S-Sorry! I just mean... I need some time to catch my breath, okay?"

"Okay then, just sit down," Yuka said, helping Gohan into a sitting position on the floor. "Just relax and take it easy for a while."

Gohan sat there, calming his nerves with the meditation exercises Piccolo had taught him, and pretty soon, his body felt a lot better. At least it didn't feel like one giant, throbbing ache, anyway. Just then, little Goten ran in the room, carrying something in the ball of his fist.

"Hey, hey, Nii-chan, look what I found!" he cried happily. Then he stuck his fist out, palm open, to reveal a rather large frog. "Look! Isn't he the most exciting frog ever? I named him Gohan in honor of you!"

Gohan felt the familiar grin he always felt when Goten was doing something cute or innocent. He was so carefree and happy and full of life, just like... _him_. Sometimes he was so similar to him that it hurt his heart just to think about him, but most of the time he really loved being near his younger brother. Whenever he was feeling sad Goten always knew how to cheer him up.

"Hey, yeah, he looks pretty neat," Gohan said.

Yuka held a hand to her mouth to stifle her giggles at this rather innocent scene unfolding. Kouta just seemed confused.

"Can I keep him? Can I keep him, huh? Please, Nii-chan, can I?" the little Saiyan Hanyou begged.

"I'm afraid that's not my call to make, Goten-chan," Gohan said. "You'll have to ask our hosts."

"Hosts?" Goten asked, blinking at the unfamiliar word.

Yuka decided to take charge of the situation, and so she stepped forward. "Of course you can keep him, honey," she said warmly. "But you need to find something to put him in and take care of him if you want a pet."

"YAY!" Goten cried, leaping forward and hugging the older woman. "Thank you, Yuka-san, thank you!"

Yuka smiled as she laid an arm around Goten's shoulder.

Disengaging from Yuka, Goten flew over to Nyuu. "Nyuu?" the horned girl asked, tilting her head at the smaller boy.

"Nyuu-san, Nyuu-san, look!" he said, holding up the frog for her to see.

"Nyuu!" the innocent girl squealed, moving to grab the frog.

"Nuh-uh!" Goten declared, withdrawing the frog. "You'll have to catch me first!"

And Goten fled. Nyuu gazed after him confusedly for a few seconds, and then with a happy chirp, she chased Goten out into the yard, child and older woman having fun together as they raced around in circles.

Yuka sighed. "She is just like a little girl."

Gohan nodded in agreement. "I think Goten's found another play mate."

Kouta frowned. _I wonder who she is_,_though..._

Suddenly, Gohan's stomach let loose a colossal growl that could be heard throughout the entire room. The two cousins turned to stare at him. He clutched at his belly, looking very sheepish all of a sudden.

"Um, oops!" Gohan said nervously. "Sorry. I-I guess I'm kinda hungry..."

Yuka sighed. "Okay, we can eat first, but then we've really gotta treat you. We can't just leave you like that."

"Okay, after lunch, I promise, Yuka-san," Gohan agreed.

"Sounds good to me," Kouta ventured.

As Gohan moved away with the other two to eat some food, walking very slowly to make sure his body didn't flare up with agony, he stared one more time at his little brother and Nyuu-san chasing one another in the yard, happily playing with each other and genuinely enjoying life to the utmost fullest. Gazing out at the innocent pair, he made a vow.

_I won't let anyone destroy your second chance at happiness, Goten-chan_, he promised determinedly. He clenched a fist as he turned back to Yuka and Kouta and followed them into the dining room. _I swear. They'll have to get through_me_first._

* * *

A few miles away from the inn, within the bowels of a laboratory facility located on a tiny island far away from Kamakura, construction crews were working together to repair all of the damage the facility had apparently taken recently. Observing the construction effort was two people, a man and a woman, gazing calmly at the destruction.

The man had several bandages, an eyepatch, and stood there haphazardly, as if he wasn't accustomed to his own limbs. He wore glasses across his eyes and possessed a calm, stoic, emotionless demeanor. The woman wore her chestnut brown hair in a tight bun. She carried herself with a professional, serious air, and seemed to be taking whatever had happened to damage the facility seriously. The man was the Chief Director for their facility, Kurama, and the woman was a personal assistant to the General Director, named Shirakawa.

"The cage, the partitions, five locks, and a security system," Shirakawa dispassionately, turning to glance at the man. "Everything was perfect. The reason the shutter system opened all on its own is still unclear."

"In time, we'll figure that out," came the cold reply from Kurama. "Right now the top priority is finding Lucy and killing her."

"Killing her?" Shirakawa asked in disbelief. "Not capturing her?"

"Yes, this incident has proven she is far too dangerous to be kept alive," Kurama answered as he glanced down at his hands. They had a strange wooden quality, as if they weren't truly hands, and slowly, as if his hand wasn't taking orders from his brain very well, he clenched it into a fist as he recalled the cause of his injuries late last night as one of the facility's most dangerous specimens escaped...

_Kurama stared at the blast door_,_hiding horror beneath his usual emotionless facade as the door opened and a figure stepped through. His soldiers all raised their weapons_,_ready to fire at what emerged. The figure_,_a completely naked female wearing only a helmet_,_moved forward with slow_,_deliberate precision_,_seemingly oblivious to her own nudity. Around her lay twisted and mutilated corpses in pools of their own blood_,_the testament to how deadly and dangerous this seemingly innocuous girl was. Kurama noted all this with complete confusion._

How can this be? The guards had hollow reinforced steel bullets in their guns!_he thought._

_"Ready to fire_,_sir!" one of the soldiers called_,_cradling his gun close to his body._

_"Wait for my command_,_" Kurama replied. "Not before."_

_The girl headed towards the assembled soldiers_,_moving as if she wasn't used to walking in her own body_,_or as if she had been locked into one position for a very long time. She came to a complete stop before the congregation and only a single word issued forth from the concealed helmet_,_spoken with iciness as cold as the void between galaxies and totally devoid of emotion._

_"Kurama..."_

_"Lucy..." Kurama whispered darkly._

_Just then_,_someone stepped out of another door_,_a young woman carrying a tray of coffee. She stumbled a bit before tripping over her own two feet_,_falling flat on her face right in front of the girl named Lucy. Kurama's already pale face whitened even further as the girl he had personally taken under his wing stood up next to the cold-blooded murderer_,_completely oblivious to the danger that__her life__was now in._

_"Kisaragi!" Kurama shouted_,_losing his characteristic "cool." "Move! Get out of the way right now!"_

_"Uh_,_Chief__Kurama_,_I'm really sorry_,_" Kisaragi apologized_,_working her way back to her feet. "I messed up again."_

_"Kisaragi_,_run!" Kurama yelled. "Just run! Now!"_

_"Hey_,_what's going on here?" Kisaragi asked_,_noticing the naked girl for the first time._

_"Run away!" Kurama cried_,_growing frantic._

_"Huh?" Kisaragi said_,_turning to face Lucy. "Who are you?"_

_The helmet shifted_,_very slightly_,_so slightly_,_in fact_,_that few people would even notice it_,_but Kurama had seen it_,_and he knew in his heart that Lucy had marked this girl as another one of her many victims. If she hadn't intended to before_,_then she would now after his emotional outburst. Kurama tried to move towards the doomed girl_,_to try and help her in some way_,_but he was held back by one of the guards._

_"No_,_Lucy!" Kurama shouted desperately. "Don't do it!"_

_Underneath the helmet_,_Lucy's smirk was hidden_,_but her actions spoke for herself when Kisaragi's head twisted around and ripped itself right off its neck_,_that dumb_,_searching expression forever written on her face. The body_,_which should have fell_,_hung there in the air like a marionette as the head dropped like a stone._

_"No! Kisaragi!" Kurama roared_,_trying to move towards her corpse_,_but he was still held back by one of his men. "Open fire! Shoot her!"_

_The soldiers complied_,_opening up a hail of gunfire that would have ripped through any normal human girl instantly. However_,_the soldiers' bullets never reached their intended mark; instead the headless body of the late Kisaragi hung there_,_suspended in the air_,_and every one of the bullets tore through it like teeth tearing through a piece of bread. Flesh shredded like meat being put through a grinder_,_blood spattered across the room_,_but not a single bullet ever made it past the human shield Lucy had created out of the dead girl._

_"The damn bitch is blocking them!" one of the soldiers shouted as they kept firing for as long as they could._

_Eventually_,_they ran out of bullets_,_and Lucy dropped the body_,_no longer in need of its protection. The corpse didn't even bear a passing resemblance to Kisaragi anymore; flesh hung limp off of completely shattered bones with blood congealed in the cracks and dripping onto the metal floor. Her limbs were all twisted and bent out of the shape from the force of tens of thousands of multiple impacts_,_but Lucy just stood there_,_still nude but otherwise unharmed! As a final insult_,_the human shield she had used twisted to the side with a sickening crack as her spine snapped clean in two_,_leaving poor_,_powerless Kisaragi dead_,_mutilated and deformed beyond all recognition._

_"Hurry! Don't hesitate!" Kurama ordered. "Keep shooting her!"_

_"But we're out of bullets!" one of the guards said_,_fear filling his voice._

_"You fucking bitch!" another guard cried_,_running at Lucy rather recklessly with his gun raised_,_as if to strike her with the butt of his rifle_,_but Lucy simply ripped his still-beating heart from his body_,_throwing his body towards one of the walls._

_Lucy then walked up to the remaining guards_,_chopping them to pieces_,_tearing them in two_,_ripping off heads_,_cutting apart limbs_,_and shredding them as she slowly approached Kurama_,_who watched with complete horror_,_unable to hide his emotions like he usually could_,_and knowing with chilling_,_utter certainty that the same fate was about to now befall him._

_"It's down to you and me now_,_" Lucy said_,_her voice as icy as it had been before._

_"You won't get away with this_,_" Kurama declared. For his defiance_,_Kurama was thrown back into the wall with impressive force. A cough forced its way out of his mouth. Before he could stand_,_he was then tossed up at the ceiling_,_smashing into the unforgiving metal headfirst — he swore for a second he was seeing stars before he slammed into the ground and all the air left his lungs. For a few minutes_,_Lucy toyed with him_,_hurling him up and down and bashing him against the wall_,_the ceiling_,_and the floor. Kurama felt flesh bruise and bones dent and for a few minutes_,_it was like being sent through a washing machine_,_on rinse cycle_,_pounded and crushed as the world spun and twisted in his field of vision._

_Then_,_just when he thought he couldn't take anymore_,_Lucy finally relented_,_leaving him gasping and panting and wheezing for air on the cold metal floor. Covered in black and blue marks_,_feeling as though he had been hit with a truck_,_Kurama managed to work his way to all fours and glared at Lucy through one bloodshot eye._

_"Like I promised_,_I won't kill you_,_" Lucy said coldly. "Such a fate is too good for you. However..."_

_Kurama's arm bent to the side as bone snapped in half and a loud_,_anguish-filled cry erupted from his throat before Lucy crushed it in her invisible grip. Flecks of blood flew from his mouth and Kurama fell to the floor with as he felt pressure building on his limbs._

_"You'd be surprised what you can live through_,_" she said with a giant smirk as the sound of ripping flesh filled Kurama's ears..._

After that they'd shot her with a .50 caliber rifle, but not even that could slow her down — she'd just fallen into the ocean with little more than a head wound, while the facility had taken dozens of casualties, all brave soldiers lost in the battle to save humanity.

_Lucy_,_what are you up to?_ Kurama thought. _What is your motive?_

"Kisaragi, I'm sorry," he whispered. "But I promise I _won't_ let your death be in vain."

"Hey, Chief Kurama!" Shirakawa called. "Are you there?"

Kurama returned to his surroundings and turned to gaze at her.

"Is there a problem?" Shirakawa asked with some concern.

"No, no problems," Kurama replied emotionlessly. He turned away. "The Special Assault Team has been assembled. If we don't stop Lucy mankind will perish. With them on her trail, the Queen is as sure as dead."

And he walked off, leaving Shirakawa standing there as confused as ever.

* * *

Hey, another chapter done! But first, time to address the individual reviews.

bluntman69, you're being rude. You don't come onto someone's fic just to complain about why they are not updating. Every fic I have on my profile I fully intend to update. The older ones I took down because I knew I was never going to finish them, as much as I might want to. Now, if you want to criticize the fic, then far be it from me to stop you as long as you remain in the boundaries of civility, but please do not make your reviews personal in any way or I'll report to that I have a troll bugging me. And your reviews will just be deleted.

Anyway, as to the other reviews, I see most people like the idea of shipping Gohan with Kaede/Lucy/Nyuu. To be completely honest I like it too, but I'm having trouble with the idea on what to do with Nyuu. My primary interest is Gohan/Kaede, and having a split personality in the works kinda screws that up. Can anyone make any suggestions? This is also possibly the only time I can ever work on Gohan/Yuka, and she's a sadly underrated character. If you have any thoughts or ideas, please leave them in a review.

Now, onto the power levels for this fic.

Gohan: 1,020,000(1)

Goten: 1,000,000(2)

Power levels before the fic began.

Gohan: 15,000,000(3)  
Super Saiyan Gohan: 7,500,000,000(4)  
Super Saiyan 2 Gohan: 75,000,000,000(5)

Goten: 1,000,000  
Super Saiyan Goten: 500,000,000(6)

(1) Gohan is severely weakened from his battle. Just give him time, and he'll recover, like a true Saiyan. ^_^

(2) Goten didn't receive very much damage in their battle because he wasn't strong enough to defeat it, and Gohan protected him.

(3) Yes, I know many complain about how Frieza's maximum was 120,000,000, not 12,000,000, but in my opinion the Daizenshuu does not make that much sense with regards to power levels, since it also lists Gogeta's maximum as 2,500,000,000, but using logic, that makes no sense! If Gohan's base is stronger than Frieza's, and Gohan was a weakling as an adult then that logically means that Vegeta is stronger, and the x 50 increase from a Super Saiyan would mean his power level is _at least_ 6,000,000,000, which is more powerful than Gogeta, in his fused state, no less! Honestly, power levels don't make much sense so you should use them as you see fit. Just don't complain about that.

(4) Super Saiyan is a times 50 increase till you fully master the effects, then it becomes a times 500 increase.

(5) Super Saiyan 2 is a times 2 increase till you fully master its effects, then it becomes a times 10 increase.

(6) Goten has fully mastered the effects of Super Saiyan, but he has yet to turn into a Super Saiyan 2.

As always, please review!


	3. Harsh Words

Intertwined Destinies

DISCLAIMER: I don't own DBZ or _Elfen Lied_.

CHAPTER 3: Harsh Words

Yuka had led Kouta and Gohan to one of the dining rooms. The place was rather beautifully arranged with old-fashioned wooden walls, a few knickknacks scattered about, and a low-slung, scrubbed wooden table situated in the center of the small but picturesque room. As Gohan and Kouta sat down next to the table, Yuka reached in her bag and pulled out some kind of rice ball for them all. Gohan just stared at the simple treat — it definitely looked tasty, all right, but, well...

_Is that all she has?_ Gohan thought with disappointment. _That's not even an appetizer for me._ He mentally shook himself. _Then again_,_ it's not all that surprising. She and Kouta-san are only normal humans._

"Well, dig in!" Yuka declared, and offered the rice balls to Gohan and Kouta as she took her own seat.

In spite of his worries, Gohan accepted the rice ball without any hesitation.

"Thank you," he murmured politely to the brunette.

He winced a bit as he reached forward to grab the rice ball, and Yuka couldn't hide the concern on her face.

"As soon as we're done, I'm getting the first-aid kit," Yuka said. "You're gonna have to take it easy for the next couple of days. And I mean it, Gohan-san!" she said, suddenly fierce. "No overworking or _any_ physical activity. It may be too strenuous with all your injuries."

"Yes, Yuka-san," Gohan said respectfully.

_Wow_,_she really is a lot like Mom_, Gohan thought wistfully.

As all three munched on the rice balls, conversation regarding their mysterious "guests" inevitably sprung up from Yuka and Kouta.

"So, where do you come from, Gohan-san?" Yuka asked.

Gohan almost choked on his own rice ball. _What should I tell them? How_much_do I tell them?_ he thought. _I can't tell them the truth_,_but I don't know anything about this new world's geography. Should I just make up something?_ But Gohan hated to lie, even if he had reason to — finally, he came to a decision. _I'll just tell them as much of the truth as I can and wing it from there. After all__,__ it can't be that hard__,__ can it?_

"Well, I come from an area you probably haven't heard of," Gohan said. "We lived over near Mt. Paozu."

Yuka and Kouta just stared at Gohan, both thinking the same thing, that the name he'd given them certainly sounded like an area in Japan but, as far as they could tell, there wasn't any place nearby like it. In fact, despite living in Japan most of their lives, they hadn't ever heard of it, even once, and their curiosity was afire with this new mystery.

"You're right, I haven't heard of any place like that," Kouta said. "Is it near Mt. Fuji?"

"Not really," Gohan muttered. "It's pretty far away."

"How did you end up here then?" Yuka asked, now growing very curious about these strangers herself.

"Well, when Dad died, Mom moved us all here, but... Mom was killed recently, and we didn't have anywhere else to go," Gohan said.

Yuka and Kouta both exchanged a look. It was as close to the literal truth as he could make it without going into any great detail. However, it didn't escape their notice that Gohan wasn't volunteering any more than the basic information, and he didn't seem eager to share as much as they had hoped. Yuka was beginning to suspect that this boy had a troubled past, some reason that he was like this now. He seemed... so lost, as if he was carrying a great weight on his shoulders, something secret about himself.

"Why don't you just go to the authorities?" Kouta wondered. "If you have nowhere else to go, I'm sure they could find you a place."

Gohan just muttered indistinctly, too afraid of being discovered to say anything more. Yuka, however, had a sudden thought.

"Is it because of your tails?" she said.

Both Gohan and Kouta turned to look at the brown-haired woman.

"What do you mean?" Kouta asked, blinking in confusion.

"Well, those tails are unusual," Yuka noted. "I mean... people haven't picked on you in the past for having them, have they?"

"Um, actually, yes," Gohan said honestly, his thoughts immediately turning to Frieza and his utter hatred for the Saiyan race, a hate which had only grown the more it looked like they were going to beat him.

"Oh, you know, you really shouldn't let people like that get you down, man," Kouta said bracingly.

"I know," Gohan said, reaching for another rice ball, very slowly, so that the pain in his body wouldn't bother him again.

"How old are you, anyway?" Yuka inquired.

"I'm eighteen," Gohan told her. "Goten-chan is seven."

"I see," Yuka said. "Maybe we should have called the police when we found you three."

Gohan flinched noticeably. That would have been disastrous. The police would have interrogated him on his past, his former home, and their parents. With absolutely no background information to track in their computers, they would have quickly realized that something was wrong, and if the wrong people found it out... Gohan honestly didn't know what would happen. He certainly couldn't fight and maybe even kill innocent people who were doing their jobs and following orders.

Kouta, thankfully, just assumed that the flinch had come from his injuries, and Yuka took Gohan's hand in her own. Gohan just looked at her, startled, a bit taken aback by her friendly gesture — the teenage Saiyan noted with a hint of surprise that her hand felt very warm in his grip, too, and her honey brown eyes bore into worried charcoal ones.

"Don't worry, Gohan-san," Yuka said reassuringly, low enough so Kouta couldn't overhear her. "We won't call them now. We promised to keep you here as long as we can, and we're going to keep our word."

Gohan stared at her. How in the world could she have known he was wary of the police?

"Thank you," Gohan said, bowing his head with sincere gratitude.

"I know!" Kouta cried, sounding like he had just puzzled out the answer to a million-dollar question. "I bet you've had run-ins with the Yakuza, haven't you? That's how you received all of those injuries."

"Oh, Gohan-san, is that true?" Yuka asked with horror.

_"Yakuza" must be a local term for lawbreakers_, Gohan deduced. He knew he had to lie to them and say "yes;" not only would it explain his injuries, but it would divert further personal questions away from him, but he really didn't want to keep lying, especially since Kouta and Yuka had already gone way out of their way for him and his brother, and he hoped after he answered this, then the questions about him and Goten would cease altogether.

"Yeah, and they were tough, let me tell you," he lied. "They all had swords and daggers and chains and stuff. I managed to hold them off for a while, but their reinforcements arrived, and it was only by the skin of my teeth that we managed to get away."

"Was it..." Yuka hesitated. She'd wanted to ask him if it was the Yakuza who had killed their mother, but she knew that was way too personal for her to be asking now. _Patience_, she reminded herself. _He'll tell __us as much as he can_,_when enough time has passed. First Gohan-san has to trust us and he hardly has reason to when we're asking him all these questions!_

Gohan just glanced at her in confusion. "Was it what?"

"Nothing, never mind," Yuka said. "I was just curious, that's all."

Gohan was glad Yuka seemed to have picked up that he didn't want to be asked any questions, and he sighed in relief.

Just then, Nyuu and Goten burst into the room, Nyuu still chasing Goten. However, Goten's Saiyan appetite kicked in full force when he caught sight of the rice balls they were having and he stopped cold, his tail going stiff along with him.

"Goten-chan, what is it?" Yuka asked, correctly guessing something was bothering the tailed little boy.

"Food! You're having food!" Goten cried. "Can I have some? Oh, please, Nii-chan! I'm _so_ hungry!"

"Well, we have more than enough to share," Yuka said with a smile. "Take a seat and have a rice ball."

"Yay!" Goten said, running up and sitting down next to his brother. "Thank you, thank you, thank you, Onee-chan!"

Yuka's eyes went wide at the innocent proclamation. Had... had he _really_ just called her "big sister?" After having known her for just a few hours? And yet... there was something oddly compelling and loveable about the happy, sweet child and the knowledge that Goten apparently saw _her_, the strong, sometimes domineering tomboy as _his_ big sister touched her emotions in a way she had never felt before but she most definitely enjoyed it, and tender tears started welling up in her eyes.

Gohan noticed Yuka's emotional state and smiled. _Looks like Goten's innocent charm is enough to win anybody's heart to his side._ His smile grew a tad more melancholy as he stared a hole in the wall. _Just like Father._

Nyuu approached the table, gazing down at the rice balls with a hungry gleam in her eyes.

"Nyuu!" she declared, grabbing one of the rice balls and smooshing it up against her face.

Kouta sighed and picked up the remains.

"You've never had rice balls before, have you?" he said. "You hold them like this, and..." he instructed, but Nyuu stared at his hand and opened up her mouth, looking up at him with innocent round eyes, silently pleading with him to help her.

"You're hopeless," Kouta said, sighing again as he could see the direction this was heading. Kouta carefully reached over and helped Nyuu clean up her mouth. She smiled brightly at him, and Kouta, now resigned, picked up another rice ball as he prepared to help Nyuu eat the treat. However, she still didn't seem that adept at eating very well, and the rice ended up going everywhere on her face, coating her chin and her cheeks like a white beard.

"Look," Kouta said. "You got it all over your face."

Truth be told, helping Nyuu eat wasn't that bad. In fact, he kind of enjoyed it. Yuka stared away, tapping her finger on the table, feigning ignorance at the situation even as a part of her recoiled in jealousy.

_I know I shouldn't be feeling this way_,_ but I can't help it!_ she fumed inside. _He's paying more attention to her than me! And I'm his cousin! What happened to the promise he made me_,_ eight years ago? Did all those happy years mean nothing to him?_

Gohan, meanwhile, was observing the whole thing with a very thoughtful stare. _She really does seem like a baby_,_ yet she's got to be near my age. I wonder what could have happened to her? Maybe some sort of trauma_,_ or perhaps she has amnesia. Or maybe_,_ she's an alien and this is what members of her species are normally like?_

Suddenly, Goten reached up and pulled on Gohan's torn and ragged shirt. He glanced down at his brother.

"What's the matter, Goten-chan?" he asked.

"Nii-chan, I'm still hungry," he whined.

Gohan sighed and offered him the rest of his rice balls.

"I'm afraid this is all we have right now," he said in a low voice. "We can't eat any more or they'll discover who we are."

"Hm, okay!" Goten stated cheerfully, not really paying attention to what Gohan said, and he bit into more rice balls.

Gohan smiled at his little brother, and glanced out over the horizon, staring at the ocean in the distance, with the waves breaking against the shoreline and little, fluffy white clouds soaring high above in the breathtaking cerulean-hued skies. This really was a gorgeous place to live, nestled up right against the ocean, with a serene, peaceful feel.

_Maybe living here won't be so bad after all._

* * *

In a computer-enhanced simulation area with laser sighting, four lightning-fast and very precise shots swiftly took down four armed and desperate-looking targets in the shooter's field of vision and skillfully avoiding the one civilian in his sights. In a control center adjoining the targeting arena, uniformed men at the controls could be seen poring over statistical data on the monitors, observing the shooter's progress.

"That's incredible," an SAT officer commented. "He locked on to all four targets simultaneously."

"It would take a monster to beat Bando one-on-one," the simulation operator muttered.

"A monster, huh?" the officer said.

"I could do without his personality quirks," the operator sighed.

Down in the arena, as Bando turned the corner, more targets came into his line of sight, and like before, he shot them all and managed to miss the lone civilian that had turned around the corner with them, a testament to this man's extreme marksmanship skills. Still decked out in full black body armor and helmet, the soldier named Bando moved around another corner as still more targets entered his range of vision. This time, however, he shot recklessly at both hostages and enemies without slowing down to check who he was shooting.

Up above, the SAT operator and officer reacted with horror.

"Bando, stop screwing around!" the operator admonished the man.

Bando removed his helmet and dropped it to the floor. He shifted position so that he was facing the control room above.

"Shit!" Bando cussed. "What the hell is the point of shooting stuff that doesn't scream or bleed? It's getting old. I'm ready for real people."

"You bastard!" the operator yelled, losing his cool with the hotheaded psychopathic soldier glaring up at them.

"I understand," the officer replied, regarding the situation in a very detached manner.

As he walked into the control room, Bando shrugged dismissively as he leaned against a railing.

"This is stupid," he said. "I'm done with this shit."

"A murderer escaped from the detainment facility this morning," the officer informed Bando.

"Huh?" Bando said, glancing at the officer.

"I want you to find her immediately and shoot her on sight," the officer told Bando.

"Kill her," Bando translated. "And I don't have to give her any warning?"

The SAT officer just stared at Bando. A happy look stole across his face and he began laughing loudly.

"Just go out and cap her, huh?" he cackled gleefully.

Behind him, an assistant approached him with a clipboard showing the results from his latest exercise.

"Mr. Bando?" she said.

As though acting on reflex, Bando savagely backhanded the young woman, who fell like a sack of potatoes. For a few seconds, the girl lay stunned and bloodied on the floor, just gazing up at Bando in horror, not entirely grasping the reason she was now hurting in an undignified heap at his feet. Bando glared down at the poor girl without remorse.

"Don't stand behind me, you stupid bitch!" he yelled.

"He's perfect," the SAT officer announced.

Judging by the expression on the face of everyone around him, the rest of the officer's staff didn't share his opinion. Bando could care less what they thought, however — finally, a new mission and a chance to put his finely honed hunting skills to the test and kill someone. And he didn't even have to play by the damn rules and give them a warning first either!

And Bando walked out of the control room, laughing his ass off in anticipation of the coming bloodshed. One of the controllers who had witnessed this stunt shook his head as he let only one thought pass through his mind.

_I feel sorry for the one who has to take him on._

* * *

As Kouta set to the task of cleaning up the house, Yuka sat Gohan down in what could be called the living room, now with the first-aid kit, which included bandages, a bottle of disinfectant, and some ointment. A pile of clothes lay to the side that looked as though they belonged to Kouta, but would still be able to fit over Gohan, even if only barely.

Gohan stared at her in expectation, awaiting her decision.

"First, I need you to take off that shirt," she said.

Gohan nodded and pulled his ripped gi off his upper torso, revealing layers of hardened muscles and beautiful, gleaming bare flesh, despite the wounds. Yuka gawked a little at the sheer dimensions of this boy, marveling at how absolutely dreamy he was.

_Gohan-san must have worked out for hundreds of hours to look like this!_ she thought, amazed. _He's any girl's dream come true._

She blushed. She couldn't be thinking this way — Gohan was hurt, for Kami's sake! Besides, Kouta was the one for her.

Still looking a bit red, Yuka picked up a few towels and set to work.

A half an hour later, Yuka had dried Gohan's wounds, disinfected them, and then wrapped bandages around them, applying ointment wherever Gohan said it felt a bit sore, and she had to say, he was looking considerably better than he had before.

"All done!" she announced, relieved that she was finished.

For a while she didn't know if she could make it through. Gohan had the most amazing, solidly built sexy body Yuka had ever seen before in her life, and just touching that mountain of bare, sinewy taut muscles and attempting to conceal her true feelings from him was very difficult. She could swear that by the end of it she was blushing as deeply as a tomato. Oh, what would her mother think of her for behaving like this? One thing was certain, however; any girl would be more than lucky to be with Son Gohan. Those dark, soulful quivering black eyes, his finely shaped body, the way his muscles just rippled underneath that broad, handsome torso...

Yuka shook her head. _No_,_no_,_stop it! Don't be thinking such things_,_Yuka! You're saving yourself for Kouta! So what if Gohan is the most beautiful man I've ever — no! No! Stop thinking that! Bad girl!_

Gohan stared at the brown-haired girl, both embarrassed and confused. It had been nice to be treated by her; she had a kind and gentle touch and Gohan found himself just enjoying the feel of her hands working across him, caressing his hurt body so tenderly. Yet it seemed she hadn't like it as much, because at the end of it she was shaking and looking very angry.

"Uh, I'm sorry if this was a chore, Yuka-san," Gohan said, rubbing the back of his head. "Thank you for your kindness, though."

Yuka felt a bit guilty upon realizing that some of her anxiety must've showed on her face. She couldn't let Gohan go on thinking this despite how utterly embarrassing it was for her to be thinking in... _that way_.

"I'm okay, you idiot!" she snapped at him, her raging hormones making her voice came out a bit harsher than usual. "I was just a little distracted, that's all! It wasn't a chore, and I didn't mind doing that."

Gohan's eyes brightened, and Yuka felt a bit flustered by just how utterly _cute_and _boyish_ Gohan looked, how this mysterious tailed boy was touching her emotions in a way that Yuka hadn't expected from such a complete stranger. It seemed every time that she expected to connect with the idealized image of Kouta that Yuka had built up in her mind, her valiant knight in shining armor riding in on his trusty steed, he kept disappointing her, and Gohan more closely fit that description!

Why_am I thinking like this?_ Yuka wondered. _I_shouldn't_be thinking this way! Kouta is the one I want to marry and have a family with! It's just longing to be with him. Once he gets his act together_,_I know we can reconnect again. We shared such a close bond as children. I know we can share that same bond again as adults. I know it in my heart._

"Yuka-san? Yuka-san?" Gohan's voice intruded on her train of thought. "Hey, um, are you okay?"

"Huh?" she said. "Oh yes, I'm fine."

She mentally shook herself. She shouldn't be daydreaming like this. She was a mature, responsible adult, or at least she was supposed to be, and grown-ups didn't totally space out and daydream this way!

"Anyway," Yuka said, standing up. "You'd better change clothes. I know I said I'd go buy you and Nyuu-san new clothes, but it's kind of late right now. How about we go do that the first thing tomorrow?"

"Super!" Gohan said cheerfully. "Thank you, Yuka-san."

Yuka blushed a bit. "Yes, well, I'll leave you to get dressed now."

Once she was gone, Gohan began stripping out of his old, ragged clothes and into Kouta's garments, reflecting on all that had happened. Despite how totally raw the pain of losing his old life was, Gohan was surprised to find just how optimistic he felt. There was just something about this place that seemed... quiet. At ease. Peaceful. Maybe here he could just forget all about fighting and saving the planet and live a normal life, like he had always wanted, despite his immense power.

_Maybe I can return one day and wish them back to life_, he thought. _Perhaps we could move here. No more genocidal aliens_,_no more killer androids_,_no more space pirates or homicidal maniacs_,_but a normal_,_simple life. Yeah_,_I could live with that._

He just had to keep thinking positively. No, he was _not_ in denial. He just had to wait and pretty soon, everything would be back to the way it was before, only better than before. As he finished pulling Kouta's dark green shirt over his head, Gohan nodded with conviction. Yes, he just had to be patient for everything to turn out all right. It would, in time.

Now dressed in new clothes and feeling much cleaner than he had several hours ago, Gohan wandered into the next room to find Goten sitting in front of the television set, watching the local TV channels.

"Nii-chan, look! Look at some of the shows they have!" Goten said. "I've never seen anything like this before!"

Gohan glanced at the screen and saw some kind of weird yellow rodent thing running at a giant blue turtle thing, gathering electrical sparks all around it as it picked up speed, slamming into the blue tortoise's stomach with a cry of, "PIKA!"

"That's great, Goten-chan," Gohan said, happy for him.

He sat down next to his baby brother and decided spending some time with him didn't sound so bad.

"What is this show called?" Gohan asked curiously.

"Onee-chan said it's called _Pokémon_, but I've never seen it before!" Goten said. "It's so cool, Nii-chan. They have to capture these magical animals called Pokémon in these little tiny balls called Poké Balls and some of those Pokémon attacks look like the ki techniques you taught me!"

"Coincidence," Gohan said. "But I'm glad to see you're getting along with Yuka-san so well."

"Oh yeah, she's great!" Goten chirped.

Gohan just smiled. Maybe now was the time to broach the subject with Goten. "Hey, Goten-chan, do you want to talk?"

Goten stared up at him.

"Huh?" he said. "Talk about what?"

"You know, what happened before we got here," Gohan said as gently as he could.

The boy gasped. "Oh no! I-I forgot about that! How could I forget Mommy so easily? No, Mommy! Trunks-kun!"

And Goten broke down sobbing right there. Cursing himself for bringing this up now, even though he figured Goten might want to talk about it, Gohan pulled the little Saiyan Hanyou into a tight embrace, wrapping his arms around his little brother protectively.

"That's right, cry," Gohan said. "Just let it all out, little buddy. I know you'll feel better once you do."

For a while, Goten just lay there in his arms, crying brokenly.

"Why? Why did it have to happen, Nii-chan?" Goten sobbed. "Now they're dead and we're not with them. Mommy's gone... Trunks-kun is gone! We're all alone! Why did they have to die on us? And why did I forget them? They'd never forget me as quickly as I forgot them! I'm a horrible son and horrible friend for doing something so bad to them!"

"No, don't say that!" Gohan insisted, moving Goten so that he was staring his older brother in the face.

"I know it's tough, but you have to remember, we WILL return to Earth someday and we WILL wish them back," Gohan said with steely determination coloring his voice. "I swear, we won't just leave them that way, Goten-chan."

Goten looked up at his older brother through teary eyes, the renewed light of hope sparkling in them. "You really mean that, Nii-chan?"

"Of course I do," Gohan said, reaching forward and ruffling his brother's hair. Goten smiled blearily at his beloved brother, even as Gohan wiped his tears away. He loved it when his Nii-chan made a big fuss over him. "We're going to do everything we can for them, okay?"

Goten nodded. "Okay!"

"As to the reason you forgot them... you're still young, Goten-chan, and that was a painful thing that happened to us," Gohan said to him. "You forgot about it because you didn't want to suffer when it was so simple to move on to something else. Besides, it's very easy for young children to get distracted by something else. Just don't worry, okay?"

"You mean you don't think less of me?" Goten asked fearfully.

"Aw, come on, you know I could _never_ do something like that, Goten-chan," he reassured him.

"Thanks!" Goten cried, hugging him even tighter. "You're the bestest big brother ever!"

Gohan chuckled a little at Goten's enthusiasm. Then he glanced up, adopting a very confused expression on his face.

"But, Nii-chan... if we're not on Earth, then _where_ are we?" he asked him.

"Another Earth in a parallel dimension," Gohan informed him.

"What? There's another Earth?" Goten asked. "But how can there be _two_ Earths exactly the same as one another?"

"Different dimensional states, occupying the same time and place, but totally different from each other," Gohan said simply.

"But... what? Huh?" Goten whined, scratching his head with his tail. "I'm... I'm completely lost."

"Well, it's like going underwater," Gohan explained patiently. "You know how when you swim underwater, you can't see anything above you in the air? You are only able to see the barrier where the water and the air separate, two different physical states that we feel. That's how we can be in a completely separate Earth we never would have seen or interacted with normally."

"I sort of get what you're saying," Goten said. "We're in a different place we can't see, but it's similar to our home?"

"Kinda," Gohan said.

"Then does that mean we'll find copies of ourselves here?" Goten said excitedly. "Because that would be so cool!"

Gohan laughed at Goten's innocence. "I dunno, it could be possible, but from what it seems like, that's not likely. For one thing, we would have sensed their ki if there were any really strong warriors here on this planet."

"Darn!" Goten complained. "I was hoping I could find another friend to play with, like Trunks-kun."

For a while, Gohan just chuckled, amused and happy to find that Goten was settling in to this world so well, before something occurred to him, and he knew he had to tell Goten, so he would be prepared.

"But Goten," Gohan now told him, very seriously, "it's absolutely important that you don't tell anyone in this new world just who we are or where we come from or about any of our abilities, do you get it?"

He was just lucky Goten hadn't accidentally revealed it already before he'd talked with him, but to be fair, he had been dealing with a lot.

"What?" Goten yelped. "But why, Nii-chan? They seem like nice people! Don't they deserve to know?"

"Even nice people can have bad reactions, Goten-chan," Gohan explained. It was critical that Goten understand this. "Remember how Mom told us never to tell anyone we have Saiyan or demon blood?"

"Uh-huh," Goten said, sounding confused.

Gohan sighed. "Well, it's because we're different. They don't understand us, and people are afraid of what they don't understand. Sometimes, when you're really afraid, you find yourself acting in ways you never would normally, doing things that you'd usually condemn. Even the most kind person can do the most hateful, evil things for the right reasons, or what they believe the right reasons to be. And I get the feeling this world isn't as accustomed or as capable of dealing with the unknown as our world is. We're going to have to play it very safe from now on. Do you understand?"

Goten nodded solemnly. "I do, Nii-chan. You're just trying to protect me."

Gohan smiled. "Yes, I am. Just please be careful, all right, Goten-chan?"

"Okay, I promise, Nii-chan, I won't tell anyone where we come from!" Goten vowed with all the energy of youth.

"Good," Gohan said, looking at the TV. "But that's enough talking, because I think we're missing the program."

"Oh no!" Goten cried. "And Satoshi's Pikachu was just about to beat the Blastoise too!"

And Goten turned back to the television, already engrossed in this animated TV show called _Pokémon_. Wrapping a brotherly arm around Goten's shoulder, Gohan settled himself down and began watching it with his little brother.

In the other room, Yuka walked in on Kouta, who was rifling through his knapsack for something.

"Did you clean up already?" she asked him.

"Yeah, and that's no easy feat, let me tell you," Kouta informed her, still looking through his backpack.

Yuka's attention turned to Nyuu, who was in that same room, bent over glancing up at Kouta in a _very_ suggestive position, but everything about the pink-haired girl, her eyes, her expression, and her posture, spoke of pure innocence, that it was nothing sexual about the way she was holding herself; she just didn't know any better.

"Nyuu," the horned girl said simply.

"Once Gohan-san and Goten find their own place, what do we do with her?" Kouta asked. "She can't stay here, you know."

"I know," Yuka sighed wearily. "Perhaps we _are_ better off calling the authorities."

"Yeah," Kouta agreed as a tiny pink seashell fell out of his bag.

Yuka noticed it and moved closer to it.

"Is that from the time we went to the beach?" she asked, recognizing it as the seashell that once belonged to Kanae.

"Uh-huh," Kouta said as he grabbed the small seashell in his hands, holding it as if it were the most precious treasure on the entire planet, and his vision clouded as the memories started intruding upon him...

_"Look_,_Onii-chan!" Kanae declared._

_Kanae came running up and stuck her hand out_,_revealing the pink seashell that she had found on the shore to her two cousins. Yuka and Kouta learned forward_,_mesmerized by the seashell and its sparkling beauty as sunlight glinted off the perfectly carved edges._

_"It's pretty_,_" Yuka breathed._

_"It really is. I'm surprised you found something like this_,_" Kouta admitted._

_"And?" Kanae said expectantly_,_awaiting her reward._

_Kouta reached down and lovingly patted her head_,_tussling her hair a bit. Kanae smiled happily at the affection of her older brother._

_"Fine_,_" Kouta said. "You did a good job."_

_"Okay_,_then_,_" Kanae said excitedly. "I'll give this to you_,_Onii-chan!"_

"Wasn't long after that she got sick and died," Kouta said sadly.

Yuka looked at Kouta, concerned.

"She was sick?" Yuka asked. "Is that what you said?"

"This is like a memento," Kouta said, an expression of deepest mourning on his face. Nyuu watched him very closely, a puzzled look adorning her features. "Since I came back here I thought I'd take it with me."

Yuka tried to say something, but then she trailed off, unable to approach what was obviously a very tender and sensitive subject for her cousin. Finally, gathering up enough courage, she tried again.

"Kouta..." she said.

"Huh?" he replied. "What is it?"

Nyuu grabbed the shell, as though trying to figure something out, something she couldn't understand or didn't even like, but which was really, really important to her, her innocent mind trying fervently to connect the dots.

"What are you...?" Kouta began.

He never got a chance to finish the sentence, however, because at that moment Nyuu snapped the seashell between her two fingers like it was a twig, grinning broadly at what she'd done. A look of mounting rage appeared on Kouta's countenance while Yuka just stared in utter and complete shock at what Nyuu had just done. Kouta flew to his feet and roughly seized Nyuu by the shoulders, getting right up in her face and screaming at her.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!" he yelled. "I SAID IT WAS A MEMENTO OF MY SISTER, DIDN'T I?!"

"Kouta, no!" Yuka cried as she tried to restrain him, but Kouta's fury was not to be denied.

"WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?!" he roared.

"Kouta, stop it!" Yuka pressed, more urgently than before.

"YOU CAN'T JUST SAY THAT YOU WERE KIDDING!"

As he kept yelling at her, a tearful expression began growing on Nyuu's features. Yuka, meanwhile, was totally shocked; she had never seen Kouta lose his cool this badly; the loss of his family must really hurt even more than she had initially suspected.

"Stop it, Kouta!" Yuka said. "Calm down! Nyuu must have thought the shell —"

"YOU!" Kouta said, still raging out of control. "GET OUT!"

"Wait a minute..." Yuka said, trying her best to resolve the situation and comfort her cousin, but it was just no use.

"GET OUT!"

"What are you saying?" Yuka demanded.

"I SAID _GET OUT!_" Kouta repeated.

"You have to calm down!" Yuka insisted.

Now looking more confused than ever, Nyuu hopped down off of the table and ran as fast as she could out of the room, tears spilling down her cheeks as she cried wildly. Gohan, obviously having heard all the shouting, hesitantly entered the room, a look of concern etched on his face. Goten trailed near his leg, looking frightened and clutching to it like his life depended on it.

"Is everything all right?" he asked. "I-I heard a lot of yelling. Is everyone okay?"

This, at least, seemed to calm Kouta down. He grabbed the broken seashell in his hands as he cursed under his breath. Yuka sighed, now greatly relieved that Kouta's rage appeared to have dissipated. Yuka wouldn't admit it out loud, but seeing her beloved cousin, the boy that she had idolized and admired for eight years, break down screaming and shouting like a madman was very disturbing.

"Well, we had an accident," Yuka said, knowing that Kouta was too distraught to talk about the subject. "Nyuu broke Kouta's seashell. It was a present his little sister, Kanae, gave to him before she died."

"Oh my," Gohan said sympathetically. "I'm so sorry, Kouta-san."

Kouta snorted bitterly and shook his head. "No, that _wasn't_ an accident. She knew exactly what she was doing! She deliberately broke my shell! On purpose! What in the _hell_ was she _thinking_?"

"I think she understood," Yuka put forth. "She knew the seashell made you sad."

"Huh?" Kouta said, glancing over at his cousin.

"Wherever Kanae is I don't think she'd be happy to see you like this. Her memory ought to be worth more to you than bitterness. There was nothing bitter about how she lived," Yuka said, very wisely. "If you're sad every time you remember Kanae, Kanae will be sad too."

Gohan had a sudden thought, one that gave him a sudden surge of hope, but he had to put it away for later...

"Yeah, you shouldn't have yelled at her that way, Kouta-san," Gohan said, frowning a bit.

"But... she..." Kouta said.

"Haven't you looked into her eyes?" Gohan said. "They're innocent. She's like a baby. Something must have happened to her, something very traumatizing to set her back like this, but I... I think Nyuu-san has regressed into an infant-like personality. She wasn't trying to hurt you, Kouta-san. Nyuu-san just didn't know any better, the same way that a little girl wouldn't know better."

Kouta grew very pensive after hearing what Gohan said, mingled together with an expression of horror. Gohan turned around and made to head away. Yuka, still looking a bit concerned, moved after him.

"Where are you going, Gohan-san?" she asked.

"I'm going out to look for Nyuu-san," he said simply. "It's horrible weather out. She shouldn't be alone."

"But you're wounded," Yuka protested. "You should stay here until you recover. I can go out and look for her."

"I can't just sit around doing nothing, knowing she's out there, sad and vulnerable," Gohan said passionately. "I know I'm hurt, but I am going to do the right thing no matter what happens to me." He looked at her and smiled. "I'll be okay, Yuka-san. Honest. You don't have to worry about me."

Yuka blinked. _He's so noble_, she thought. _Where on Earth did he pick up such a chivalrous spirit?_

"Then I'm going with you," Yuka said, sounding determined.

Gohan nodded. "Let's get going."

With Goten following them like a lost puppy, Yuka and Gohan left the room to begin their search, leaving Kouta behind who, still pathetically holding onto the destroyed seashell in his hand, wept over how badly things had turned out, crying for all of the time that had been lost, for everything that had happened as Nyuu's sad, confused face filled his vision...

* * *

Through the darkened, stormy skies of Kamakura flew a helicopter, running lights piercing through the heavy rain with bright intensity as it soared closer and closer to the town itself; the sound of twin rotor blades and the roaring engine filled the night sky, interspersed every so often with the crack of thunder, and the flash of lightning. In the open bay sat a dozen or so soldiers, all of them wearing body armor and equipped with all of the latest gear.

"All right, men," one of the officers told the others. "Our target is eighteen years old, with pink hair and horns. When we locate her, do not hesitate. The target killed twenty-three men and women in less than five minutes. She's vicious, and it seems that she has some sort of a new experimental weapon. We don't know enough about it, but the limited range is two meters."

"Pink hair and horns?" one of the soldiers repeated. He clenched his assault rifle until it creaked in his grip and felt like his hands had gone numb. "So, it's one of _those_ freaks again. After that last one, I thought I'd never get another chance to make them pay for all they've done to me."

Visions of his wife and his daughter flashed before his mind. _Sayaka... I won't stop until you are avenged_,_ and all of your killers lie dead._

The commander turned to regard him with interest.

"Name and rank, soldier?" he asked.

The man straightened up. "Private Mizuru Takenouchi, sir!"

The commander nodded. "So, you know something about our target?"

"Yes sir," Takenouchi spat harshly. "They're soulless, heartless monsters who turn on their own parents and murder them. I've been hunting them for a while now and I know how dangerous they are."

"Very well," the commander said. "You'll be invaluable in our operation."

A low chuckle could be heard, and most of the team glanced over as full-scale laughter came from Bando.

"Never thought I'd see the day when this country would let me terminate a minor," he said happily, imagining the various ways he would kill their target. "Hey, things are looking up in the world."

"You have no fucking clue," Takenouchi snapped. "You just don't know how _dangerous_ they are."

"Yes, just stop talking, jerk," the soldier right next to him growled. "We happen to take our mission seriously."

Bando whipped out a gun and held it right up to the poor man's face, almost shoving it into his nose.

The compartment erupted into noise.

"What are you doing?"

"Stop it!"

"What are you thinking?"

"What are we training for every day?" Bando said, waving the gun in the other man's face. "Killing, right? Do you get that?"

Bando cocked the gun, even as the other soldier wondered whether Bando would finally cross the line he knew the monster longed to cross and kill one of their own men, but, just as quickly, he pulled it away, laughing as he did so.

"That serious enough for ya?" he asked.

"Remember, we want no civilian casualties," the chief said firmly.

"What the hell?!" Bando complained. "No civilians? Goddamn it! That's just no fun at all!"

"How the hell did this psychopath end up with us?" one of the others asked.

"He's just as bloodthirsty as those monsters," Takenouchi said.

"Completely insane..." another soldier mumbled.

Bando didn't care what anyone else said about him; he was back at work doing what he loved most, killing people. He hoped that this girl would present at least something of a challenge for him — it was so satisfying when he brought down someone he could fight back.

_Either way_,_I'm getting to have fun tonight_, he thought as the chopper flew closer to Kamakura.

* * *

Well, there it is. The latest chapter is out. Expect work to resume on _Justice League United_ in a week, and an update will be forthcoming within weeks or months. Maybe. I don't exactly have a timetable set.

Anyway, here are the power levels as I see them.

Gohan (after treatment): 1,200,000

Goten: 1,000,000

Bando: 60

Please review!


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